Amends
by Challijo
Summary: Sequel to Heavier Now...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer-- I don't own Smallville. Sad, I know.

Amends

_Sequel to Heavier Now_

_Ch. 1_

Clark had been avoiding the Talon ever since his mom became the manager. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to be seen with his mother—well, yes he was. Every kid his age would be. Everyone loved his mom—she made them feel like she was everyone's mom, but still. Clark loved his mom, too, so every once in a while he would show his face to show that he was supportive. That wasn't why he was there today, though. He thought it was time to start a different mission.

He froze when he saw a familiar girl walking down the stairs. "Hey.... Lana."

"Hey.... Clark." He was doing it again—sometimes he would seem completely normal and at ease, yet there were times like these when he made her feel like she had walked in on his secret. Of course that's what she wanted, so she realized she shouldn't complain.

"I'm sorry; I just didn't expect to see you here."

"I live here." She knew she was giving Clark a hard time, but after everything he had put her through, she didn't really care.

"Yeah..." Clark just looked down. He wasn't sure what to say next. His relationships with everyone he cared about were so fragile right now. Just one wrong phrase or bad timing and the life he had worked so hard for could go up in flames. He could almost feel the heat from the fire now.

Lana, however, was tired of the awkward silence. "You come for the world's best coffee?"

"Um, actually I was looking for Chloe. I can't quite seem to get a hold of her these days."

Lana nodded. "I think she's still avoiding you."

Clark looked down again. "Yeah. I got that feeling."

"You can't blame her, Clark."

Clark nodded. He didn't want to go down this road, but he couldn't ignore it completely, either. "At least you're still talking to me."

"Yeah—maybe I should take a page out of Chloe's book. Then you would come to me instead of the other way around."

_Careful, Clark. _"Lana, I'm sorry."

"Clark, you have apologized every time we've seen each other for the past two weeks. I really don't want to go into it again."

Clark nodded. At least this time it was her idea. He jumped a little when Lana walked past him. _How long have I been thinking... _"So how have you been?"

Lana stopped. Whatever she was late for could wait. "I've been good. Going through a little of Clark withdraw."

"Lana, I haven't purposely been avoiding you." Lana raised her eyebrows. "Okay, I have. I just thought that maybe we could use some space."

Lana looked up at him. "Clark, this _is_ our relationship. If you run away every time we cross this road, we'll never have a meaningful conversation again."

Clark paused for a second. _Change the subject... _"I should go find Chloe."

Lana smiled angrily. _Of course... _"Clark, you're doing it again."

Clark froze. He knew he was, but he didn't want to deal with it right now. If this was the conversation they would have every time they'd talk, he wasn't sure he wanted to have a conversation ever again.

Lana spoke up. "I guess I should go, too."

Clark watched Lana walk out before he decided to go. He would have walked out with Lana, but that would mean they actually had to talk again.

"Hey sweetheart!" Martha Kent loved seeing Clark at the Talon. She took this job partly because she knew her son and his friends spent a lot of time at the Talon, and she wanted to take a more hands-on approach in her son's life. And this way she could keep an eye on the people around him. Next year he would be off to college—this could be her last chance.

Clark looked around. "Mom, people can hear you." Martha gave him the 'you want to try that again' look. Clark did try again. "Not that I mind." Martha nodded sarcastically. "Did you get your homework finished?"

_Always a parent..._ "Actually, Mom, I was looking for Chloe. Have you seen her?"

"Chloe? No, not today. Have you tried the Torch?" Clark started to answer, but didn't. Martha waited for a second. "You know, the Torch... the place Chloe lives—well, basically."

_The Torch... why didn't I think of that... _He had so preoccupied with his own worries, he hadn't thought clearly. Clark smiled, trying to deflect his own embarrassment. "Yeah... well, I guess I'll go check there."

Something was up. "Clark?" Clark turned around and looked at his mom. "Are you okay?"

Clark forced himself to smile again. "Yeah, Mom."

Martha nodded and watched her son walk out the door. Clark had to find Chloe, but that wasn't what filled his thoughts right now. Right now he felt horrible—he felt so guilty. He had just lied to the one person who would never lie to him back—his mom.

He decided to super speed to the Torch. He didn't want to give Chloe the opportunity to escape. She could yell or ignore him all she wanted, but they were going to have this conversation now. He couldn't run away from this with her, because he knew she wouldn't be there when he came back. He hadn't expected, though, what would happen next.

He turned around the corner hoping to shut the door behind him and block Chloe's exit, which he did, but when he looked up, he froze. Chloe was sitting by her computer, but she was talking to an older man standing in front of her. They both stopped talking and looked up at Clark. A million different things went through his mind. It only took a few seconds before Clark spoke again.

"Grandfather?"

Chloe's gaze went from Clark to the man and back to Clark again.


	2. Ch 2

Ch. 2

"Wha..." Clark's mind was still reeling. "What are you doing here?"

William tried to speak, but couldn't find the words.

Chloe stepped in. "He came to see you."

"I don't understand—how did you know I'd be here?"

"I read your byline." He held up a piece of paper. "Very impressive for someone so young."

Clark took it. "Where did you get this?"

William smiled. "You are full of questions—just like your mother was."

"Makes him a good reporter." Clark remembered there were three people in the room. "I do put the paper on the internet, Clark." Clark's gaze shifted to Chloe. The look on her face said it all.

"Like your friend said—I'm here to see you." Clark looked back at his grandfather. "Look, Clark—I know I haven't always been there as much as I would have liked to..." He looked down. It was harder for him than he had thought. "I was just trying to..."

"I know, Granddad—it's okay." Clark smiled.

"I'm just glad I'm here now."

"Me too." He paused. "And a little confused."

William looked proud. "There's that reporter's curiosity again."

"Yeah, that's Clark for you—full of surprises." Clark stared at her for a second.

"Well the truth is, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay. I haven't gone to see your mother yet, and frankly I was afraid if I saw her first I wouldn't be able to see you."

Clark was angry. Not at his parents—at himself. It was just one more thing that was his fault—well, two actually—his mom not being able to see her dad, and himself not being able to know his grandfather. But anger in this case was good—it gave him resolve. "It will be different this time, Granddad. I promise you."

William just looked down. He didn't look too happy. "Yes... yes, it will."

Clark remembered why he was there. "Chloe..."

Chloe stopped him. "Clark—go home with your Grandpa." Clark wasn't sure what to do. "Really—it's okay."

Clark nodded. He forced himself to smile again. "You haven't seen the farm lately—You have to see my loft..."

Chloe pretended to be busy cleaning up the Torch as the two men walk away. She always did find it odd that Clark's grandfather was never involved with their family. Especially after hearing a bit of his and Clark's conversation, and Martha was his only child. _No... _Chloe forced herself to stop. She had promised herself she would stay out of anything that had to deal with Clark. This could only lead to heartbreak... or maybe it could lead to the answers she was looking for.

Jonathon was working under the tractor when he heard Clark's car drive in. This tractor seemed to brake down every week, but they couldn't afford to buy a new one—especially with Clark's college just one year ahead. He didn't know what he would have done had Clark not been there. When he was younger they would hire workers to come out and help them in the fields, but when Clark was older, they didn't have to. If they had to hire workers now with Clark's college and Jonathon's medical bills...

Jonathon heard a door slam. "Clark—good, you're home." He reached for a wrench. "Could you help me—just lift this up for a sec."

Clark looked at his grandfather nervously. "And how would I do that?"

Jonathon didn't get the hint. "Well, Son, you could..." he paused when he saw four feet instead of two. "You could get the lever," he covered as he climbed out from underneath the tractor. Jonathon had been used to making up explanations on the spot—it just came with the territory. The trick was not to let yourself be surprised. He froze when he saw whom the other two feet belonged to. Yep, he was surprised.

"Hello, Jonathon." Clark's grandfather held his hand out, hoping Jonathon would take it. He didn't.

"William." Jonathon stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. He walked towards the barn. "I thought we had an understanding."

"I'm just here to see my daughter."

Jonathon turned towards him. "She's not here."

"I know—Clark told me about the Talon."

Jonathon looked at Clark. "He did, did he?"

"It's not Clark's fault, Jonathon. He didn't know I was in Smallville."

"So you just happened to run into him first, did you?" William looked down, trying not to incriminate himself. Jonathon walked into the barn. "If you're here to see Martha, why aren't you over at the Talon?"

William thought about that for a second. "I didn't want to surprise her at work."

"Clark, why don't you go in the house?"

That surprised Clark. "Why?"

"Just go, Clark."

"Dad, you said if I acted like an adult you would treat me like one." He waited for a response. "I want to stay."

Jonathon would have fought the issue, but he wanted to get rid of William. "I thought Martha and I had made ourselves clear—we don't need you or any or your help."

"I'm not here to offer my money, Jonathon. I came to see Martha and Clark, and even you." Jonathon looked at him suspiciously. William added, "That's what normal Grandparents do."

Normal. That struck a chord. "William!" He stopped when he realized Clark was still in the room. He softened a little. "Look, we've gone this long without family contact—we shouldn't try and ruin a perfect record."

William became defensive. "That's because you've had family around you all this time. My family." Jonathon started to reply, but William interrupted. "I'm not leaving until I talk to my daughter."

"Fine—you can wait out here." He turned to his son. "Clark, if you need me, I'll be in the house. For some reason it's getting a little cramped outdoors."

Clark and William watched Jonathon walk out of earshot before William spoke again. "I've never known a man who could hold a grudge as long as Jonathon can."

Clark had to say something. "That's not fair, Granddad—you don't really know him that well yet."

"Yes, well, I might not get a chance to." He turned towards Clark. "You're old enough now to know the truth-- if there's one thing I hold against your father it's not letting me have the chance to know my grandson."

Clark squirmed a little. "He had his reasons, Granddad."

"Well, whatever they are—I know you'll be off at college next year, and I just didn't want you to leave thinking I didn't want anything to do with you for the rest of your life."

Clark smiled. "Thanks."

"Speaking of which—have you given much thought as to which university you might want to apply to?"

Clark grabbed a football and shrugged. "The University of Metropolis is one. It's not too far away from home that I couldn't come visit. And I'm hoping to play football there—maybe get a scholarship."

"You have to have a lot of talent to play for the Metros."

Clark wasn't sure how William meant that. "Yeah..."

"But don't worry about the money, Clark. I'll make sure you'll have enough to get whatever you need. I could rent you an apartment close to the school—or did you want to live in the dorms your freshman year?"

Clark was a little overwhelmed. "I guess I haven't made any definite plans. Right now I'm just focusing on how to survive senior year."

William chuckled. "I remember that. It might have been a little different in my day, but the feeling was still there."

Clark smiled. Yeah, it was a little different for him than it was for William. He had meant surviving literally. Chances are William didn't have people trying to exploit him and trying to kill his friends. "Granddad—I don't want you to take this the wrong way..." Clark paused.

"What is it?"

"Why are you here?" William started to answer. "I know you said to see my mom and me, but I can't help but feel like there's something you're not telling me."

William put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "Don't worry, Clark—I wanted this to be a happy visit." That still didn't satisfy Clark's curiosity. William changed the subject. "Your girlfriend tells me you're quite the reporter."

_Girlfriend..._"Y...You mean Chloe?" William turned towards Clark. "Chloe's not my girlfriend. We're just friends."

"Yes, I felt your... friendly tension... at the Torch today."

Clark smiled. Everyone in Smallville had been obsessed with secrets—keeping them, finding them out, trying to exploit them—but William was very blunt in a non-blunt way. You knew he didn't like to play games. He thought a second before answering. "Our relationship is a little fragile right now."

"Sounds like we have a lot in common."

Clark smiled again. He felt he could really open up to his grandfather. "Chloe was mad at me for something I did..." He stopped himself. He couldn't be _too_ open with his grandfather.

"Which was..."

Clark looked down. "I wasn't as honest to her as she would have liked. Anyway, now we're in a huge fight and I don't know what else to say to her."

"Have you tried telling her the truth?"

Clark smiled. _If only you had read the last fanfic... _"That's sort of what our fight's about. It's complicated."

William shrugged a little. "Well, it's probably a good thing anyway."

That confused Clark. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I stopped by the Torch, I couldn't help but see what she called 'The Wall of Weird'. If you ask me, she's not quite right upstairs."

Clark wanted to defend Chloe, but he without hurting his grandfather. "You'd be surprised."

"She said it all happened because of the meteor shower?"

Clark felt uneasy again. "That's the theory."

"What do you think?"

Clark smiled nervously. Someone who didn't like to play games probably wouldn't like Smallville. "I think you should have an interesting stay."


	3. Ch 3

"I thought I told you there was no hurry."

Martha Kent smiled at her husband. She knew he was trying to make this easier on her, but nothing could. Martha loved her father—he was, after all, her father. But when she adopted Clark she was forced to choose between her relationship with her parents and her son's safety. Obviously she chose the latter. It was hard. She didn't know it could be so hard. But the choice was made—how could she go back on that now? "I got home as soon as I could." She took her coat off. "Where is he?"

Jonathon walked up to her. "He's in the barn with Clark."

"Clark? Jonathon, this is a very sensitive issue with him. If Clark starts talking, he might not stop."

"I know that Martha, but I can't just pick him up and throw him in the house."

Under controlled circumstances, Martha would be glad to see her father— but she knew him. He wasn't invited this time, and Martha's dad never came anywhere without an invitation. Not unless he had something to say that no one wanted to hear.

"What does he want?"

"I don't know, Martha—he wouldn't tell me. All he said was that he wanted to see you and Clark."

Martha was thinking. "I don't like the sound of this."

Jonathon agreed. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

By this time Clark had shown William his entire loft—I mean, his "Fortress of Solitude".

"Fortress of Solitude? Describes your father in three words."

"He's not as bad as you think, Granddad."

"Yes, that's why he has this farm house in the middle of corn fields—lots of opportunities for conversation."

"Well, the corn is all ears." Clark laughed a little at his joke, but his grandfather just looked at him like that was the worst joke he had ever heard. Clark's smile faded. "Ears… that's what the corn's…" Clark looked away. "Never mind."

"I see we can add farm whit to the list your father's responsible for." Now Clark was getting a little tired of this. He tried his best not to sound angry. "Why are you always ragging on him so hard? He really does his best to provide for me and Mom."

"Clark, when you're at a certain point in your life, you look back at it all and try to see what you're life is worth… but all you can see is the mistakes you made—the mistakes you let people make for you." William looked lost in thought. "When you see that, you get very angry at the people who are responsible for that."

Clark straightened. "Or maybe you just look for someone to blame."

William looked at Clark. "You're speaking your mind, Clark—I guess more of Martha has gotten into you than I had thought."

Clark would have said something, but they both turned around when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

William stopped at the sight of his daughter. This was one of the handful of times he had seen her in 20 years. Before she was just a kid, barely older than Clark. Now she was a woman, with life experience. He might have missed out on the opportunity to know her before, but he wouldn't allow himself to make that mistake again.

Martha, however, was not smiling. This had to do with protecting her son—she had to treat it that way, no matter how much she didn't want to. "Dad."

William smiled. "Martha." He stepped up to her and hugged her for the first time in 20 years. "It's so good to see you."

But Martha didn't hug him back. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

William stepped back, disappointed in the cold welcome. "I just came to see my daughter and my grandson."

"You should have called, Will," Jonathon spoke. Clark gave him a warning glare. He was the only one who wanted William to stay.

"I would have called, but I knew what you'd say."

"And that would have stopped you?"

"Dad!"

"No, it's okay, Clark." He turned to Martha. "I needed to tell you something—something I couldn't tell you over the phone."

Martha was suddenly alarmed. "Is it Mom?"

"No, no—your mother's fine."

Martha shook her head in confusion. "Then what is it?"

There was a long silence. Clark finally decided he didn't like silence. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad Granddad's here now." He smiled, hoping others would smile, too, but they didn't. Clark's smile faded.

"Dad, I really wish you could have talked to me before you cornered my son."

"I wanted to see him before I saw you."

Clark looked confused. "Why?"

William looked up at his grandson. _He's tall for his age… _"Because you wanted to see me, Clark. That's why."

Martha looked away. She knew she was getting the medal for the world's worst daughter about now, but she couldn't think of that. She had to think of Clark. "You've seen him, now you can leave."

"Martha…"

"She said you can leave." In reality, Jonathon felt guilty about Martha and Clark not being able to see William, but Clark was also Jonathon's son. And William was a respected lawyer. If he ever found anything out… Jonathon didn't want to think of that part. "You might own part of Metropolis, Will, but I own this farm. I want you off of it right now." Martha turned around to leave.

"Martha, I have cancer."

Everyone in the room froze, then turned back towards William at the same time. "What?" Martha asked.

"It's lymphoma. The doctor says I have 6 months, 6 weeks… 6 days."

Martha shook her head again. "But you look fine."

"I decided to quit the chemo. I figured I could die in a hospital surrounded by nurses or I could come to Smallville and make amends with my daughter, and her son…" He turned to Jonathon. "And her husband."

Jonathon wasn't sure what to say, but this sure changed things.


	4. Ch 4

"Are you serious?" The question didn't have to be asked, but everyone knew it would be.

"Martha, why would I make this up?"

Jonathon looked down. "Will…"

"Look, Jonathon—I know we haven't seen exactly eye to eye over the years, but I want to make up for it now." He looked at Clark. "Or at least make up for it as much as I can."

To Clark, it felt like someone had dropped a tractor on him with kryptonite around. "But…"

"I'm not looking for pity—everyone knows I'm not the kind of person who would stand for it. And before you go talking about getting better doctors, you should know Kathy and I have spent the past three months going down that road…"

"Lex!" Clark interrupted. "Maybe he can help."

Martha nodded—she was thinking the same thing. "Our son has ties with Lex Luthor…"

"Lex has got to have enough pull to reach the best doctors in the world."

"He might have enough pull, son, but would he do it?"

"Dad, he'd do it for me. We're friends again."

"As much as I love being clueless in a conversation, let me end this by saying nothing can be done. Doctors can do a lot, but they can't do as much as you think they can."

Clark remembered Ryan. He had always saved Ryan—looked out for him. Ryan was beaten by his stepfather, drugged and tested by a ruthless doctor, but ended up dying from cancer. No matter how hard Clark fought, he couldn't save him from disease. He wasn't going to loose that battle again. "There must be something we can do— Lex can…"

"Son, let's just drop the whole Lex thing, okay?"

Clark looked at his dad. "Why?"

Jonathon shook his head. "Let's just drop it."

"Well you are staying here tonight, Dad." Martha ran up to him and hugged him tighter than she ever remembered hugging him before. "I'm so sorry."

"There will be time for mourning after I'm gone, Martha. All I want now is happy memories—for you and for Clark."

Everyone looked back at Clark, and suddenly he felt like they were all staring at an alien. He tried to divert the attention. "I'll go put new sheets on the guest bed."

"No, Clark—why don't you let your mother and I do that." Jonathon put his arm around Martha for emotional support. "Stay out here and get to know your grandfather."

"Or you could show him the house," Martha added. It hadn't entered into their minds that it was okay for William to go inside. Clark didn't know why—especially since he had just volunteered to put sheets in the guest room for him. _Stress… _Clark thought. He was finally having enough stress to take away his common sense. He just hoped the next step wouldn't be loosing his mind.

Martha waited until they were out of earshot to speak. She was kind of mad at Jonathon. She knew she might be looking for a scapegoat, but she didn't care. "Why don't you want to talk with Lex? Lex knows the best doctors—that could end up saving my father's life!"

"Martha—you were from Metropolis. What's the one thing everyone knows about the Luthors?"

Martha stopped. She had known Lex for so long that she had forgotten the rule—Luthors are only friendly to you if they have an alternate motive.

"If Will knows how close Clark and Lex are, he could suspect something."

Martha knew he was right, but she didn't want him to be. "He doesn't want to suspect anything—remember, he just said…"

"We can't take that chance." Martha and Jonathon just looked at each other for a moment. They both had mixed emotions about what they were deciding to do—if they even knew what they were deciding to do.

"He's my father, Jonathon."

Jonathon looked down before speaking. "He's our son, Martha."  
Jonathon looked her in the eye. "Are you really willing to take that chance?"

Martha paused, then shrugged. "I don't know." She walked towards the house. "But I do know that I won't play God like that."

Jonathon followed her. "We might not have a choice."

Martha stopped. "What do we keep telling Clark? —We always have a choice."

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Chloe was still in the Torch, finishing up the last odd jobs that had to be done. It was harder now that she didn't have Clark to share the workload with, but that was sort of her choice, too. She could either be with Clark everyday and risk not being mad at him, or she could just avoid him until he gave her a reason not to. She liked the latter choice better. The silent treatment hadn't worked on Clark before, but only because she didn't see it to the end. And besides, this time she wasn't even sure she wanted Clark back in her life.

"Another busy day on this side of the rainbow?" Chloe looked up, but relaxed when she saw Lana walk into the room. Kansas would never live down its Wizard of Oz metaphors.

"Just doing what needs to be done."

Lana fiddled with some gadgets beside the Wall of Weird. "Clark's not helping you?" Lana stopped as her gaze landed on the picture of her as a three-year-old, right after witnessing her parent's death.

Chloe followed her gaze and suddenly felt like the worst friend in the world. "Does it bother you—having that up there?"

Lana shrugged and tried to shake her head no. "Yes. But it's in the past, Chloe."

Chloe knew where this was going. "Yeah—just like Paris and Jason getting fired is in the past." Lana looked at her. "The past influences the future, Lana."

"But it doesn't have to control it." Chloe stopped, trying to find something to say to that. In reality she liked being able to fight with a friend without being angry at them. "So, back to my previous question—Clark's not here?"

"Okay, I'm going to drop the whole metaphor thing and just say this—Clark deserves to be mad at. Come on, Lana—don't you dare tell me that you aren't still angry with him."

Lana tried to change the subject. Slightly, anyway. "Well for what it's worth, I think it's working. I have never seen Clark so passionate about anything."

"Besides you." That just kind of came out without Chloe's knowledge. "Sorry."

Lana chose her words carefully. "I have never seen Clark so  
willing to do anything to get a friendship back—including mine."

Chloe hated to admit it, but that made her feel a little bit better. She smiled. "Well good—he's supposed to feel bad."

Lana laughed a little. She turned towards the stack of newspapers that would go out in the morning. "And what would he feel bad about missing today? Mystery meat in the cafeteria again?"

Chloe smiled. "No, nothing so electrifying, I'm afraid." She grabbed a paper and tried to sound as excited as possible. "New Tree Planted Near South Entrance!"

Lana nodded, trying to think of something supportive to say. "I can see where you could add twists to that."

"Well, if someone would just try to kill us with their telekinetic brain capabilities like usual, this just might have to be bumped down to page three."

"Okay, please tell me you are not wishing for meteor infected people to come after you."

Chloe smiled again. "That's how you know it's a slow news day."

Lana's gaze fell on something else. She picked up a green file she hadn't seen before. "What's this?" 

Chloe's eyes got wide. She scrambled to her feet. "That's… nothing." She grabbed the file away from Lana. Lana just looked at her. "If you tell Clark, I'm not going to talk to you for a very long time."


	5. Ch 5

The next part in our story...

Clark stared at the coffee pot. He had been staring at it for about an hour now. He knew he shouldn't really be there, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. He had tried to hide out in his room, but Martha tried to confront him. He moved out to his fortress, but his father found him there. Clark loved his family, but when your family's the problem, you need somewhere where you can escape—even if it's just for a little while. That's why he was at the Talon. Martha had left early, and by this time the coffeehouse had closed. Lana wasn't even there. He was probably breaking the law simply by sitting in the chair after hours, but he didn't care. Clark had this weird feeling—

"It is an interesting pot."

Clark turned around in surprise. He hadn't even realized Lex had come into the room. That scared him. "What are you doing here?"

Lex stared at Clark, curious. "I could ask you the same thing."

Clark looked down. He was the one breaking the law, of course. "I just needed to get away."

Lex still wasn't satisfied. "I can see where this would be your first choice."

Clark stood up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here."

"Wait, Clark…"

Clark looked back.

"You know you can stay here for as long as you need to."

Clark just stood there for a moment. He didn't really want to be at the Talon, trying to explain anything to Lex, but he didn't really know where he wanted to be. "Thanks," he finally said. Lex stared at him for another moment, trying to read his expression. Clark decided to break the silence. He always was uncomfortable when Lex had that look on his face. "I haven't seen you at the Talon in a while."

Lex's concentration broke. He didn't say anything for a while—finally he nodded. "I've been busy."

_Keep him talking, Clark._ "Doing anything… exciting?"

Lex walked towards the cash registers. "Nothing as exciting as what I've seen in the past." He looked up at Clark. "You don't drop by as often."

Clark tried to find words to say. Finally he gave in. "I guess I've been busy, too."

Lex pushed the cash register in and locked it. He didn't look convinced. "Yeah—lots to do in Smallville."

Clark just looked away. Lex finally rolled his eyes. He was too tired to play games tonight. "Clark, is anything wrong?" Clark gave him a questioning look. He didn't mean to, yet he had done it so many times in self-defense… Lex tried again. "Is anything wrong? As in… wrong?"

Clark wasn't really sure why he was trying to keep this a secret from Lex. It had nothing to do with the past Clark was trying to hide; yet he couldn't bring himself to tell Lex the truth. "Have you ever felt like you were balancing pieces of your life?"

Lex snorted a little at that. "Who doesn't, Clark?"

Clark leaned against the counter. "It's like I've been given things to balance, and my whole life—ever since I could remember, I always knew that someday I wouldn't be able to balance them." Lex looked up at Clark questioningly. "It's like I could see into my future, and everything would come crashing down—and no matter how hard I fight it, I know that someday I'll loose, and then everything I worked for will be over."

Lex just looked at the counter top. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Then it will be over." Clark looked up. "If you believe it's inevitable, Clark, then it will be."

Clark didn't really want to hear that then. He wanted someone to agree with him, someone to tell him he was right. "We can't control everything, Lex."

Lex shrugged. "We can control some things."

They stood in silence for a while before Lex knew it was time to step in. "Consider yourself officially kicked out for the night." Clark looked at him confused. Lex shoved Clark's jacket into his arms and pushed him toward the door. "Go home, Clark. Talk to your family, who I'm assuming you're not talking to, for whatever the reason. Talk to them so your family doesn't become like mine." Clark knew Lex was right, but he still didn't want him to be. Lex tried again. "Leave now, or I'll call the police." Clark gave him a "would you really" look, and he realized Lex would.

So he did leave, but not before a thought crossed his mind. Something wasn't right. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was majorly not right. It didn't have anything to do with Clark's grandfather, but he couldn't believe he hadn't spotted it before. Clark turned around. "Lex—I think I'm going to need your help."

Lex looked at him puzzled. The police were forgotten.


	6. Ch 6

"So you're avoiding Clark, too."

Lana looked up from her schoolbooks to see Chloe entering the Talon. She stood up to walk with Chloe towards the counter. "You know, your senior year is supposed to be the easiest year. You know where all your classes are, the routine of the school…"

"Which teachers to avoid," Chloe joined with a smile.

Lana finally thought she broke the edge of insanity. She had to smile. "Which teachers to avoid—that's a definite."

Chloe waited for her to go on. "But?"

Lana looked away. "But… all it is is a continuation of the years   
before. Same classrooms, same homework…"

Lana had stopped, but Chloe knew where her mind was  
going. "Same people?"

Lana's smile faded. She nodded angrily.

Chloe tried again. "You know, normally I wouldn't push this, but it has to be confronted…"

"It's been two days since I've seen him, Chloe." Lana interrupted.

"That's quite the accomplishment in Smallville. Especially since you have at least three classes together every day."

"Well, I sit in front and I don't look back." She looked at Chloe and saw general concern on her face. She suddenly felt embarrassed. After all—Chloe was going through the same thing, too. "Sorry."

Chloe's voice had so much conviction that it startled her. "Lana, if you shut me out, too, I really will go insane."

Lana tried again. "He lied to me, Chloe."

"What a shock."

"No, this time he really flat out lied to me."

"Lana, I don't mean to point out the obvious, but you are surprised by this… why?" 

Lana shook her head. She had known Clark was lying to her for years, but this… this was different. "I know it doesn't make sense, but with every excuse that came from him these past few years there was a part of me that wanted to believe him. Something that said, 'Maybe he really is telling the truth, and this is all a really weird line of coincidences.'" Lana looked away. "And then…"

She didn't finish. The reporter in Chloe hated it when people didn't finish their thoughts. But Lana was her friend, so she tried her best not to sound harsh. "Then what?"

Lana fought the desire to tell her. She couldn't say it. Not right now, anyway. "But now I know he lied." She looked at Chloe and shrugged. "So what now?"

"I say…" Chloe stopped. She was going to say they should go and confront Clark about it and not take no for an answer, but they had already tried that. That's what got them into the mess in the first place. Chloe shook her head. Her fault. Why did she feel guilty? It was Clark's fault. She was not going to let him make it about her. Well, in a way it was about her. Or them—or the lack of them in the future. Chloe tried again. "I say we just forget him. Forget him and move on."

Lana looked at her, knowing. They would if they could, but when you care about a person those feelings don't go away just because they hurt you, no matter how much you might wish they could.

Chloe grabbed her coffee and started towards the door. Lana spoke again. "I have to face him sometime."

"Not necessarily. You could just not look back for the rest of the semester."

"With our lives, Chloe, we have to look back. We never know who is running after us."

"Or not running after us." Chloe spoke in a low voice.  
Lana smiled, trying to break the tension. "At least we're not bitter."

Chloe smiled a little, too. "At least there's that." She paused, but she had to ask. "You're not going to tell Clark what you  
know, are you?" She knew Lana wanted to.

"Can I tell him what I know, just not how I know?"

Chloe gave in. "Lana, you can tell him whatever you want--just as long as I'm there when you tell him."


	7. Ch 7

"So you're avoiding Clark, too."

"Hey Mrs. Kent!" It surprised Lex how glad he was to see her back at the Talon. Part of him had been scared she wouldn't be returning to work. When she had told Lex about her father showing up for a real visit for the first time in 20 years, it had surprised him. He had never heard Clark or anyone in that house mention their extended family. Of course Lex had done research of his own and found out that William hadn't spoken to his daughter since she had married Jonathon, and Jonathon's and Will's difference had kept them apart ever since. That was the story, anyway, but knowing Jonathon as well as he did, Lex had no reason to doubt that. But when he found out about Will's cancer, he felt bad for dismissing Clark so easily the day before. Lex was so sure it was just another fight with Clark and his Dad—the kinds of fights all fathers have with their sons right before they go out into the world on their own. _Never assume anything anymore,_ Lex noted to himself. He could have gained back some friendship with Clark if he had only not assumed so much.

"Hey Lex! Thanks again for letting me have some time off. It's been a really weird week."

"Mrs. Kent, when I said you could have time off, I meant more than three days. You take as much time as you need."

Martha shook her head, as if it would stop Lex from speaking. It did. "I need to be here. I want to be here. Around people." She went over to get her clipboard to mark off inventory. 

Lex followed her. "Around young people."

Martha was confused, but she kept working, hoping to divert his attention. "Yeah."

"Healthy young people."

Martha put her clipboard down. _So that's what he's getting at… _When she spoke, it was motherly. He was, after all, her son's best friend. Well, sort of. "Lex, I know you mean well, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. I just enjoy working."  
"Like you enjoyed working when Mr. Kent was in the hospital?"  
Martha didn't speak for a second. Then she tried to change the subject. "I haven't seen you in here lately."

Lex smiled a little to himself. _Changing the subject. That's where Clark gets it._ "I've been busy," he said, remembering this same conversation he had with Clark.

"Clark's been busy, too. Said you're helping him with a project he's working on?"

Now Lex tried to change the subject. "I decided I'd try to come in today—see if any of my favorite people who happen to be managers was back at work."

Martha knew what he was doing. "It's a project for school, right?"  
Lex wasn't really sure what he had told his parents, but it didn't surprise him that he didn't tell them the truth. Clark was grieving in his own way, too. Lex sipped some apple cider. "I mean it—take all the time you need. You're job will be waiting for you when you get back."

"I'm worried about Clark. He hasn't spent any time with his grandfather since he heard about his diagnosis. He's just spending every moment after school with you."

"There's nothing better than hot apple cider on a day like today." That was a cheap shot at changing the subject, and Lex knew it. But it was the first thing that came to his mind, and he didn't know anything better to say. _I'm spending way too much time with Clark…_

"He's hiding, Lex."

Lex put down his cup. He knew Clark was hiding, but for the first time in half a year, Clark went to Lex to hide. And Lex had to regain Clark's friendship if Clark was ever going to tell him what he wanted to know. He was pretty sure Clark was the only one who could tell him. That wasn't to say they weren't friends—Lex generally liked having a "little brother". But if Lex was ever going to have a friend—a real friend—they had to be honest with him. Honest on their own. And that's what Lex wanted even more than knowing whatever Clark was hiding from him. Lex remembered Martha was still there. "You can have two conversations at once, can't you?"

Martha wasn't going to let him get out of this conversation so easily. "Apparently. Lex, I'm really worried about him. He might not…" she stopped. She didn't want to feel this. Not in front of her boss. "He might not get another chance to know his grandfather. Then whatever memories could have been will be lost forever."

Lex cringed inside. He knew that story too well. The only ancestor of his he knew was his father, and look how that turned out. "I know. I'll talk to him."

"You're the only one he might listen to, Lex."

Lex smiled. _"You're the only one he might listen to."_ "I think that's a compliment."

Martha smiled. She knew that didn't sound full of confidence. "I just want… I just want him to have the chance to say goodbye."

Lex looked down. Of course when he had heard the news, he had to check it out for himself. Medical records were classified, but only if you didn't know the right people. Sure enough the diagnosis was correct. Terminal. That was the word used. Of course that's what they said about his own father. But still… "I'll talk to him." That's all he said before he hurried out the door, hoping to avoid Martha's other concern that was obvious she had. And that was a good thing, because Martha almost called out for him to wait so they could discuss what he was doing with her son. Obviously nothing Clark wanted them to know, and that meant it had to be something that could put Clark's secret on the line. Or maybe Clark really was grieving and wanted to be away from the thing he was grieving for. She would have asked Lex, if her own heart wasn't too tired from fighting the urge to cry in front of all these healthy young people.


	8. Ch 8

When Clark was 12 years old, he would follow Lana into the woods past the fields where his father worked. No one knew he was there. He always did know how to hide. Every once in a while he could step on a stick and Lana would look around, terrified a wild animal would be about to pounce, and Clark would rush away thinking, "One of these days… one of these days I'll actually talk to her. I could 'bump' into her, and say I was just out walking," and it would be just the two of them out in a secluded place. But he never did. He was much too shy. He was afraid he would say something stupid, and then Lana wouldn't ever want to talk to him again. Then one day he decided things were going to change. He would just go out and talk to her, and if he messed up, he would mess up—but if they actually hit it off, Clark and her might actually have a chance. That was one of those "defining moments" to him. That was the day he realized that the harder you try, the harder you fall. He couldn't risk that. Not again.

Clark stood in the grove of trees he had been in a million times before. He leaned against a tree, remembering how simple things were back then. Clark smirked. _Simple. _Things weren't simple then, but they were simpler. Lana would tie her horse to this tree, and sit down on the logs that had fallen. She would stay there for at least an hour, just reading. Clark would read all the books she would, hoping that one day, when he would "bump" into her, he would be able to say, "Hey, I'm reading that, too!" That was what got him to like reading. He learned a lot from it—seeing other's point of view. Learning from the lessons they learned in their own lives. It was actually a book that gave him the courage to decide to talk to Lana. He had been following her there for over a year—when it was warm enough. He could still remember that day as if it were yesterday. It started off the same—Clark would hurry up with his chores, say Pete and he were going to the creek, and then wait for at the place for Lana to get there. He had taken his own copy of the book Lana and he were reading separately together, just to kill the time. Then he heard the horse steps, and looked up.

"They say it's better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all." Clark spun around to see Lana walking towards him. She stopped right in front of him. "Of course 'they' lived centuries ago."

Clark smiled. "They were also the ones who thought people should only bathe once a year."

Lana smiled now. "Do you think they knew what they were talking about?"

Clark didn't say anything. He didn't really want to talk right now. He had come out here to be alone. He wasn't even sure what Lana was doing there. Clark remembered he could talk. He tried his best not to sound mad. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"What made you think of looking here?"

Lana tried to smile. She moved towards some logs that had fallen down, hoping they were still stable enough not to fall as she sat. "You're mom."

Clark followed. He was trying to enjoy someone else's company. "Sometimes I think she's psychic."

Lana was trying her hardest to be friendly, too. "And she saw you head out this direction. Her exact words were, 'He went that way—I have no idea what might be out there.'" Lana smiled as she remembered early days. "As soon as she pointed towards this direction, I knew where you were."

Clark tried to play ignorant. "Why would you think of here?"

Lana looked up at him. "Come on, Clark—did you really think I didn't know you were here the whole time?"

Even though he was busted, his illusion was all he had left. He had to protect it. "What do you mean?"

"Clark, I saw you."

"Maybe you just thought you saw me a lot."

Lana raised her eyebrows. "For a year?"

Clark smiled. He couldn't protect his illusion anymore. "I thought I was being sneaky."

Lana laughed quietly. "Well, for a 12-year-old, I'm sure you were."

They just sat there in silence for a while. Lana decided to break it. "When did you stop?" Clark looked up, questioningly. "You stopped. I hadn't heard you for a while. After a couple of weeks, I sense I was alone." Lana stopped and looked at Clark, waiting for his answer. "You never even said hi. Every day—for a year."

"I guess I grew out of it," Clark lied. He stood up and looked off into the distance, hoping somewhere inside of him that he could will this conversation to be only in his imagination. Then it would never have really happened.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Lana asked. Clark spun around. "I was always hoping you would come say hi to me." Lana smiled, remembering. "I thought, 'This could be the day. Maybe this shy, secretive Clark Kent will actually come out and talk to me today.' I would think of all the lame excuses you would use for being at the right place, right time. Everything from you just 'bumping' into me to someone stealing your cows and you thought you saw them running off into the woods, so you took off after them."

Clark was laughing, too. He missed that. "I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me."

Lana shrugged. "Every girl likes to be liked, Clark."

For a second, Clark thought everything was okay again, as if all the scars in their past had just flown away, leaving them behind.

Lana broke that illusion. "But what ever girl likes more is to have someone they care about be honest with them."

Clark almost rolled his eyes and stepped back. _Not here, _he thought. Not again.

"I just want to be able to trust what you say, Clark. When you lie to people, they can't know the real you." Lana followed him. "I want to know the real you."

"Just forget me, Lana. Just pretend everything was a bad dream—just stop caring."

Lana stopped. "It's too late for that. You can't just take back your feelings. Once they're given, they're given, and they live and they grow. You can't just kill something that's alive, that's that strong."

Clark stopped. He knew what she was saying—he was feeling the same way himself. That's what made it so hard.

Lana wasn't sure what else to say. "You just don't lie to your friends—you don't lie and keep secrets from people you care about."

Clark was mad. "Well, apparently people do!" For once he let himself be mad. Lana looked startled that Clark would yell at her so fiercely. He was tired of people telling him how he felt. They couldn't read his mind—not even Ryan could read his mind. How did they know whom he cared about? Lana started to leave. This was not the way she wanted this conversation to go. She knew from experience, you couldn't convert people in a yelling match. They would just be set in their own ways even more. Clark saw that she was about to leave and softened. He couldn't really blame them—they had no idea how deep this secret went. They couldn't, and they might never know. "You were 13." Lana stopped and turned around. Clark tried to not to look at her. "I was 13, too. Irony or ironies, I was going to talk to you that day." Clark smiled. "I was going to mysteriously 'bump' into you while I was out for a walk. And had gotten there early, just so I could reread the last chapter of the book, which is what convinced me to talk to you in the first place. I psyched myself up for it—I don't even know why it was so hard now, but my heart was going a million miles per hour when I heard your horse ride up to the grove." Clark stopped and looked at his hands. "Then I saw two horses. Whitney was on one of them. The two of you were talking and having so much fun that I…" Clark let it trail off. He finally spoke again. "He was in high school—he was popular. I could never have competed with him."

There was silence, and Lana looked at the ground, not knowing what to say. "I guess we both missed our chance."

Clark tried to smile, hoping to rectify the mood. "That was the day I stopped coming."

Lana smiled. "I stopped soon after that, too. I guess it was just wasn't as mission impossible without you there."

Clark tried to be more open. "I think that was when I decided that keeping things a secret was safer than risking something important."

Lana looked up to him, wishing for the words that would get him to open up more. But all she could find was, "Life is a risk, Clark."

Clark looked off into the woods. Lana tried to guess what he was thinking, but she couldn't, so her eyes just wondered to where Clark's eyes were wondering, too. It almost scared her when Clark spoke. "I'm not sure if it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Lana looked up at him. "It might be, but all I know is that right now I don't feel that way."


	9. Ch 9

And in honor of the best people in the world- here's a whole bunch of new chapters! Yay! Thanks guys- you really are the best.

Ch. 9

"Clark—glad I caught you."

Clark sat the pool stick down. He had been waiting for Lex for half and hour to work on their project. "I'm at your house, Lex. Just like I am every day after school for the past 2 weeks."

"I'm sorry, Clark—I'm going to have to cut our session short today."

Clark wasn't sure what he would do with the rest of his day, but he understood Lex had a business to run. "Okay."

"And every day after that."

Clark was shocked. "What?"

"Just until things with your family get settled down. Then we can resume our project."

"Lex, you know how important this thing is. We can't just stop it—what will happen if…"

"I'll take care of it until you get back, Clark. But you can't come back until I know everything's okay at your home."

"I'm doing this for my family."

"You're doing this to hide from your family, Clark."

Clark stopped. He wanted to win this conversation. "Sometimes there's a fine line. Isn't that what you usually say?"

"Yeah, well, you usually know which side of that line you're on."

Clark stopped again. He didn't want to be manipulated into going home, yet it was Lex's house. "Lex…"

"Clark, as much as I wish it would, staying here isn't going to make your grandfather better. Go home. As a friend who has been there- go home or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Clark stood there for a little while. "I see him every day after I come from here. We talk."

Lex raised his eyebrows. "You talk, or he talks and you ignore him?"

"We…" Clark let it trail. "That's not the point."

"Clark, what are you so scared of?"

Clark stood still. He hadn't let himself think of that before. It hurt too much. He had already lost too many people he cared about. Those who were kind to him died, and those who lived were estranged from him. He wasn't sure he could make that better again. And then there was Jonathon. Although Jonathon was respectful to William, and stopped fighting over him staying at the farm, he was still very weary of Will. He knew Clark was looking for someone to confide in, and he was really scared he would confide in William. He was, after all, family. So wherever Clark was, Jonathon usually was, too—just to make sure.

"Lex, my house is a little crowded right now."

"I know the feeling."

Clark stopped, suddenly getting Lex's humor. "If you want me out…"

"This has nothing to do with what I want, Clark. This is between you and your family. And if I have to say that one more time, I will resume my investigation of your farm."

It had been long enough now that they could joke about that. Clark smiled. "My dad doesn't really trust my grandfather."

"My advice- if you don't want your grandfather to know you have a secret, stop acting like you have a secret." Clark looked shocked. He hadn't expected Lex to be so forward.

"Good-bye Clark." Lex turned around and left him alone. "If you're not gone in 5 minutes…"

"I know…" Clark yelled after him. "You'll call the police," he muttered to himself.


	10. Ch 10

Ch. 10

"I'm really glad you could come with us today, Clark."

"And miss picking up the feed?" Jonathon asked. 

"Dad can't do it without me."

"I could do it—I just prefer not to. Besides—it goes a lot faster with two people than one."

"And now you have three," William volunteered.

"Granddad—do you really think you should be lifting oats? They're kind of heavy."

"Anything my son-in-law can do, I can do also."

Jonathon turned to Will. "But your son-in-law gets tired of doing it—that's why we have kids, so we can get them to do it for us." He smiled at Clark to let him know he was kidding.

"And someday I'll get tired of it, and make my kids do it, too."

Jonathon stopped at the thought of Clark having kids. He couldn't imagine Clark trying to protect his kids and himself.

"Well, that would be a sight to see. My daughter having a grandchild."

Clark froze. "I'm sorry, Grandpa. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, Clark—it's okay. I'm just glad you're here now. And the sun is still up. It must be my lucky day."

Jonathon changed the subject. "Come on, Clark. We've got to get these things loaded before we can get the hay."

The three of them worked for a while in silence until William couldn't take it any longer. "So—Valentine's Day is coming up."

Clark looked up at him. "Yeah. Dad—are you and Mom doing anything special this year?"

"Actually, that comment was made towards you, Clark," William tried again.

Jonathon stopped hauling for a moment and smiled. Clark gave him a "stop it or I will throw your tractor into a ditch" stare.

"Didn't I read something about a dance in that school newspaper of yours?"

Clark started hauling oats again. "They have one every year."

"Who are you taking this time?"

Clark tried his hardest not to smile at their conversation. "I don't usually go to the Valentine's Dance."

"But it's your senior year. You should go to at least one Valentine's Dance before you graduate."

Clark's efforts not to smile faded. "Trust me, Grandpa—if I thought someone would say yes, I would ask."

"Why do you think no one would say yes?" Clark grew uneasy. "Or is it that a certain someone wouldn't say yes?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is, I'm not going."

"Maybe you should ask anyway."

"If I ask, I'd be even further alienated from this… person who we're not talking about." Clark froze. Alienated. Why did that have to be the word?

"And why is that?"

Jonathon stopped hauling oats again and gave Clark a warning stare. Clark saw it. "It's complicated."

"I'm an old man, Clark. I understand complicated."

Jonathon broke into their conversation. "It's just not something we'd want to get into here."

William looked from Clark to Jonathon, noting their expressions. "Well, later at home, perhaps." 

"Yeah," Jonathon said sarcastically.


	11. Ch 11

Ch. 11

The sun was setting later these days. Clark still liked to watch it from his loft. It was the one consistency in his life. It was the one thing that didn't judge him or expect anything from him. It didn't need to be explained. It simply existed.

"I am surprised I caught you alone."

Clark looked towards the stairs to see William walking up.

"I come up here sometimes. I haven't been up here in a while."

"Clark, why doesn't your father want us to be alone?"

He didn't know why frankness always surprised him. He was so used to playing games, he wasn't sure how to deal with honesty. "What makes you say he doesn't want us to be alone?"

"I'm old, Clark, but I'm not deaf yet. I hear things—like your father telling Martha, 'I don't want Clark to be alone with him.'"

Clark would have denied the conversation, but he had heard it, too. He was tired of lying to people he cared about. Of course, that was what his dad was scared of. "There're just a lot of issues…"

"I gathered."

"So you want to talk about the Valentine's Dance," Clark changed the subject.

"You taking your girlfriend?" Clark looked dubious. "The reporter from the Torch?"

"Chloe's not my girlfriend."

"Well, you never know."

"I've known her since I was 13."

"A whole—what? 4 years now?"

"Five." William smiled. "Well, five-ish. Look, it doesn't really matter."

"Of course it does. You brought it up."

"I didn't bring Chloe up."

"But you brought up the dance. My guess is to avoid a bigger issue." Clark grew uneasy. He had tried so hard not to get attached to his grandfather. He knew what it meant to get attached to someone and then have to lie to him. "Clark, I have a question." Clark rolled his eyes. _When will this stop… _"I have read a lot of newspapers since I've been here. Your mother won't let me do anything else. Did you know your town library keeps all the newspapers and files them?"

_Our town has a library…_ "No, but that's not really a question."

William smiled. "And they let people read them. Any one. And they even have the content on computers for an easy search." Clark squirmed a little. He didn't want to think about where this was going. "Well, I typed the name Kent in, and do you know how many hits I received?"

Clark was scared to answer. "I could guess."

"Seventy-five. Either you or your father, or in some cases your mother have been involved in seventy-five different investigations."

"That's… informative."

"Clark—whatever is going on with you- with this family—I want to know. I only have a little time left. I want to spend it being a family. I want to be a part of this life." He looked at Clark with the most serious face Clark had ever seen on a person. "Please don't take this away from me."

Clark took a step back. "Well it is Smallville, Granddad. There aren't a lot of places to go. I mean, chances are I'd end up in one of the four streets our town has during a crime." Clark realized he was smiling and stopped. He always did that—tried to lighten the mood during a serious conversation, hoping to make it sound less than it was. But he didn't have to do that anymore. This man was family. He was Clark's ancestor. Not by blood, but that didn't matter. He was still a part of Martha, and Martha was a part of Clark. For as long as he could remember he had been wishing to tell someone his secret. Now he could, and it would be okay.

Clark tried his conversation again. "Actually, that's not true." He tried to gather his thoughts. Going right out and saying, "I'm from another planet" might not be taken as well as he would like it to. He had to find a way to prepare him for what he was about to say. "Grandfather—it is my fault that you weren't a part of this family…"

"You seem to think a lot of things are your fault, Son."

"That's because they are. Granddad—my parents didn't adopt me from Metropolis…"

"Clark!"

Clark was shocked to see his mother behind him. "Do you guys just know every time when I'm about to tell someone?"

Martha mimicked her son's conversation. "Well it is Smallville, Clark—there aren't a lot of places to go."

"Mom…"

Martha suddenly sounded very much like a mom protecting her son's life. "No, Clark—I know you think this will all work out, but you don't know my dad like I do! He would not be as accepting as you would like…"

"Or maybe you and Dad just haven't given him the chance."

"We did what we thought was right—what was the safest for you." Martha shot back.

"Well you were wrong!"

"He's my father—I think I'd know a little bit more about this than you."

"Really? Because I've just spent the couple of weeks with him, Mom—you haven't had one meaningful conversation with him in 20 years!" Clark calmed himself. "People change, Mom."

William spoke up. "Okay, that's it—Martha, I am still your father. Stop treating me as if I were an adolescent. Now I may not know all of the details, but the more I've gotten to know Clark the more I've cared about him. Whatever it is you're hiding—whatever it is—nothing can change how I feel about him. Because he's your son, and you're my daughter. And I'm dying—and I just wanted a chance to get to know the person who will pass on a part of me in this world before I pass on."

"You don't know that." Martha couldn't contain her tears anymore. "You don't know you're going to die—they could find a cure tomorrow, and then what would all of this be for?"

"Martha—" William softened and grabbed her shoulders. "I am dying."

Martha looked down, trying to regain her composure. She was finally strong enough. "Clark—go into the house." Clark looked at her confused. "Just go!" William motioned for him to obey her, so he did as his mother asked. She didn't, however, tell him not to eavesdrop from the house. For the first time in a while he was glad he had powers.

William started again. "I just want to reconnect with my family before I die."

Martha sounded very angry. "You don't know anything about my son. You don't know what he's had to go through—what he will have to go through. He doesn't need anyone else coming into his life and complicating it. He doesn't need someone else abandoning him or turning against him—especially not some not someone he cares about." Martha started to walk towards the house herself, but stopped when she heard her father's voice. 

"I will never abandon this family again."

Martha turned around. "Just please—I have to do what's best for my child."

"As I've always just wanted what's best for mine." William stepped up to her. "I have nothing against Jonathon as a person—I just always hoped that you would be taken care of."

Now she really was mad. "Jonathon takes care of me every day. And you know, I take care of him, too. I don't need to be supported in everything—I can do things on my own."

"Your family's needs haven't escaped my attention, Martha. I am aware of the debt the farm is in, and Clark's disappearance two summers in a row, as well as Jonathon's heart condition."

Martha looked shocked. "Who told you that?"

"I have connections—did you not think I'd use them to make sure my only daughter was still alive every once in a while?"

"Some things in our house are just private…"

William couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask it. "Did you kidnap Clark?"

That shocked her even more. "What?"

"Did you kidnap Clark? Is that the big secret? Because if you are worried about me getting the police involved and taking him away, I don't want to do that. I certainly wouldn't approve of your actions, but I want to spend what time I have among family."

Martha wasn't sure what to say to that. Frankly, she was a little offended. "We didn't kidnap Clark, Dad."

"Is his adoption legal?"

Now it seemed like he was prying. "Shouldn't you know? You seem to have tabs on us all, and you're a lawyer!"

"Whatever it is, Martha—just tell me. It will be okay."

Martha paused for a moment. How she wanted to tell her dad—for it to really be okay. She couldn't count all the times in the summer when Clark was gone and Jonathon was in a comma and all she wanted was to be held by her dad. She wanted him to make it okay—that's what parents were supposed to do. But she was a parent now, too. "No one breaks the law in this house."

"Of course not—Clark actually upholds the law in one of the four downtown streets." William was a lawyer—he knew when things weren't adding up. He was hoping for some kind of reaction that would give him clues into what the big deal with Clark was. But Martha just stood there, her face unreadable. She was good at that by now.

"I'm going in the house." And she did, leaving her father with no clues but an added suspicion on what exactly was going on in the Kent house.


	12. Ch 12

Well, since tonight's Smallville seems like it's going to have someone find out a certain something, I'm going to have to post that part of my story, which is mostly written, so it doesn't seem like I'm trying to copy off of them. Thanks for your imput, guys! I really appreciate it!

Ch. 12

"Rumor is all my favorite people have been avoiding each other."

Lana looked up and smiled as she saw Lex enter the Talon, only to have her smile fade once she heard his comment. "Does this surprise you?"

"You all act like you're in high school or something."

"That was a Clark joke, Lex."

Lex chuckled a little. "That still doesn't satisfy my curiosity." 

"You even have to ask why we're all mad at each other?"

"So the rumor's true."

Lana didn't answer for a while, scared of what to say. She knew Lex cared about her, but she wasn't sure how trustworthy he could be. "We all of our issues."

Lex laughed again. "Issues… that would be a word for it."

"Lex—I'm kind of busy right now."

"I can see that." Lex picked up one of the books Lana was "studying." "What's the chapter about?"

Lana grabbed the book from him. "I haven't gotten that far yet."

Lex sat down next to her. "That surprises me. The stalk boy said you've been sitting here for over an hour."

"Well the stalk boy is just going to have to find something else to do with his free time than watch me study."

"Want me to fire him?"

Lana stopped, wondering if Lex was serious. "What is it you want to know, Lex?"

"I don't want to know anything. I want my friends to talk to each other again."

Lana started gathering her books. "Talk to Clark. I hear you two have been pretty close lately."

"I have talked to him. He seems stuck in the same place you're in."

Lana stopped. She wasn't sure how to read Lex's concern. "It's his choice, Lex. I don't know what else to tell him."

"You act like he wants to keep secrets from you," Lex commented. Lana looked at Lex. "Maybe you're the one who needs to have more faith in him." Lex walked towards the exit. He stopped when he saw fliers for the Valentine's Dance. "Are you taking Jason?"

Lana shrugged. "I want to go, but he doesn't seem very comfortable in my high school anymore."

Lex stopped for a second, feeling a little guilty. Finally he nodded. "I wouldn't either." He opened the Talon door and stopped again. "You might want to go anyway. You never know when you'll get what you've been asking for."

Lana looked at him, wondering if he knew something she didn't. But his face was unreadable as he opened the door more and left.


	13. Ch 13

Ch. 13

Clark went home right after school. It was February 13th—the second most depressing night for a single person. Already Clark was trying to forget what tomorrow was. Everyone he had feelings for he had pushed so far away. He could barely remember what it was like to be in a non-hostile environment.

"Did you ask your girlfriend to the dance today?" Clark turned around. He hadn't heard William walk up, meaning he was probably always there.

Clark smiled. "She's not my girlfriend."

William stood up. "Clark, I'm going to do you a favor. You don't have to tell me anything tonight—just go to that Statue of Liberty thing you go to…"

"The Torch," Clark interrupted.

William pretended he didn't hear. "And ask that girl to the dance." 

Clark looked confused. "I thought you didn't like Chloe."

"Well… I can't stand to see you mope around here night after night. You're young. You shouldn't mope around about life until you're in your 30's. Take it from someone who knows—enjoy what time you have."

Clark looked down. How could he make his grandfather understand? "I'd like to, Granddad, but I can't. I can't do much of anything anymore."

"You can do it, Clark," William answered. "You just can't do it alone." Clark froze. Maybe he was right. William began again. "If only there was a smart young girl with the ability to understand what you were going through." Clark looked at William. "Or at least part of it." Clark stood still for a while, debating. "I'm going to bed. Your mother's at the Talon—your father's feeding the horses. I don't want you in this house walking around—the floors are so old—they creak. It sounds like you're killing a monkey every time you walk up the stairs." Clark knew where William was going with this. "In other words, get out or I can't sleep. And you wouldn't want to keep a sick old man awake, now would you?"

Clark smiled. He was beginning to appreciate his grandfather's sense of humor, and his forwardness. He wished he could be forward about things with the people he cared about.

Chloe looked up as she heard someone entering the room. "So—you are alive."

Clark stopped, wondering if he was wanted. "Yeah. I'm sorry I haven't been around so much."

Chloe gave him as little attention as possible without actually ignoring him. "It's not like I expected you to be."

"Chloe—can we talk?"

Chloe was still working. "I don't know—I'm pretty capable of doing it, but you seem to have this phobia."

"Chloe…"

"You know—I'm not doing this anymore. If you want to talk to me, talk to me. If you want to dodge a bullet, then do me and everyone else a favor and just stay out of my way."

Clark looked around, hoping for an idea of what to say. He saw a flier on the wall. "You going to the dance?"

Chloe looked at him like, "you can't possibly be bringing that up at a time like this, could you?"

Clark looked down. "I was hoping you haven't found a date for it yet." 

"I applaud your faith in me."

"I was wondering if you'd go with me."

Chloe looked shocked. Clark wasn't usually this forward. Clark shocked himself, too. He was beginning to sound like his grandfather.

Chloe began to laugh a little bit. Clark's face stayed the same. "Wait… you're serious?"

Clark tried to sound confident. "Yeah."

"W… Why would I go with you to the Dance? No offense, Clark, but the last time I tried that, I ended up crying for a week."

"Chloe, last time we tried that, 3 tornadoes tore Smallville apart." Clark smiled, hoping to make her smile, too. She didn't. "It's not tornado season," Clark tried.

Chloe looked at Clark, trying to see if he was serious. "Okay."

"Okay?" Clark was surprised.

"Yeah—okay. But I'll meet you there. I don't want to be dressed up at home all night long and not have you show." Clark looked down, almost ashamed. Chloe felt a little bad and tried to lighten the mood. "At least that way I won't waste 200 on a dress no one will see me in."

Clark looked up and smiled. Chloe smiled, too. For the first time since their fight began, Clark had hope that their fight would end.


	14. Ch 14

Ch. 14- With a special appearance of a song by Black Eyed Peas Justin Timberlake. Sorry- it was the only thing I could think of. No stealing of songs intended. (Sobs, sobs)... and this chapter and the next one is dedicated to anyone who has been following this story. I love you guys!

Surprisingly Clark was excited for this night. He knew that he couldn't just pretend everything was okay again, but it was a start. He could at least enjoy something about tonight. 

Clark saw Chloe through the crowds, but she didn't walk towards him. _I guess it's my turn to try…_ So he did. 

"Hey Clark. I was wondering if you were going to make it," Chloe accused.

Clark stopped. "I'm on time."

"I know—I just wasn't sure you'd come."

Clark tried to sound friendly. "I said I would, didn't I?"

Chloe stopped. "Yeah. I'm glad you were honest."

Clark smiled. It was a good start. Or at least better than he had hoped for.

"Hey you two." Clark and Chloe looked up to see Jason and Lana arrive. 

Chloe smiled. "Hey guys! Jason—you came."

"Yeah, well—I didn't really have anything else to do tonight, so…"

Lana interrupted. "Hey Jason—I'm kind of thirsty—can you get me something to drink?"

Everyone looked at Jason. He got the hint. "Um… yeah. I'll be right back."

They all stood in silence for a while, not sure what to say. Lana began. "I'm glad you both came. It's sort of like old times."

Chloe nodded, trying to agree. "Yeah. Let's hope it's not too much like old times." They both looked at Clark.

"Okay—can I have everyone's attention please?" the DJ asked. Everyone turned towards the stage. "This first song I hadn't planned on playing, but my girlfriend requested it. It might be about a different kind of love, but at least my girlfriend won't get mad at me…"  
"Okay…" a girl came from the dance floor onto the stage. "You can't introduce it like that." She took the microphone. "Hi- I'm Kallie—the girlfriend."

"Are we supposed to say, 'Hi Kallie?'" Chloe whispered.

"I first heard this song when I was started volunteering for the Big Brother/Big Sister program. It reminded me of my 'little sister' in Metropolis. Her cousin was killed by a drive-by shooting. This is dedicated to her." Kallie handed her boyfriend the microphone and walked off stage.

Lana and Clark looked at Chloe. "Okay, so now I feel a little bad for that comment." Clark smiled a little. The music started. "Come on, Clark—I believe I came here to dance."

_What's wrong with the world, mama  
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas  
I think the whole world addicted to the drama  
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma  
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism  
But we still got terrorists here livin'  
In the USA, the big CIA  
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK  
But if you only have love for your own race  
Then you only leave space to discriminate  
And to discriminate only generates hate  
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah  
Madness is what you demonstrate  
And that's exactly how anger works and operates  
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight  
Take control of your mind and meditate  
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all_

People killin', people dyin'  
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'  
Can you practice what you preach  
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us  
Send some guidance from above  
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'  
Where is the love (Love)

It just ain't the same, always unchanged  
New days are strange, is the world insane  
If love and peace is so strong  
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong  
Nations droppin' bombs  
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones  
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young  
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone  
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong  
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'  
in  
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends  
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother  
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover

Clark stopped. Suddenly it seemed the song was talking about him.

_The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug  
If you never know truth then you never know love  
Where's the love, y'all,_

Clark's heart felt like it stopped.

_Where's the truth, y'all,  
come on (I don't know)_

You don't always need to hit someone to slap them across the face.

_Where's the love, y'all_

Nothing had ever made a deeper impression upon Clark than this did at this time. It was like a veil was suddenly lifted, and Clark could see everything. He saw the whole picture—or at least more than he had before. It was true. The whole song was true.

_People killin', people dyin'  
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'  
Can you practice what you preach  
And would you turn the other cheek_

Father, Father, Father help us  
Send some guidance from above  
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'  
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder  
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder  
Most of us only care about money makin'  
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction  
Wrong information always shown by the media  
Negative images is the main criteria  
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria  
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema  
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity  
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality  
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity  
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity  
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under  
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down  
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under  
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

Clark suddenly realized that was their problem. This is what he was doing to his friends. _"You can do it, Clark. You just can't do it alone." _William's words took on a truer meaning. There will always be enough enemies. Take the love where you can find it.

_People killin', people dyin'  
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'  
Can you practice what you preach  
And would you turn the other cheek_

Father, Father, Father help us  
Send some guidance from above  
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'  
Where is the love (Love)

Chloe stopped when she saw Clark had stopped, too. "Need to make a mysterious escape, Clark?" Clark looked back at Chloe, and the look on his face made her shudder. Something had happened—something he didn't need for her to give him a hard time about. Now her voice sounded worried. "Clark?"

Chloe's voice made Lana's head turn, too. No matter how hard she wanted it not to be so, she cared about Clark. He still scared her sometimes. "Clark, do you need to sit down or leave?"

Clark came out of his daze. He looked back at them. Yes, it was a risk, but it was better than the alternative. Suddenly he was so ashamed at what he was doing. Anything had to be better than what he was doing to them now. And even after all he had done to them, they still cared about him. That was real love. That was worth fighting to hold on to. "Not this time, Lana," Clark replied, but the way he said it got him a curious look from Chloe. He started straight at her, hoping she would see where he was going with this. "Not anymore." Chloe stopped, trying not to hope he was saying what she thought she was saying. Every time she hoped, her hopes would be dashed, yet the way he sounded, she couldn't help but hope this time. Clark spoke again. "I need to talk to you." And that was all he said as Chloe nodded. Clark and Chloe turned to walk out the door. They both knew where they were going—the Torch. Their sanctuary. The one place they knew well enough to feel safe. Lana saw them leaving and followed.

"Lana…"

Jason had come back with their drinks. "I'll be right back," was all that she could get out before she disappeared into the crowd.


	15. Ch 15

And now for the moment we have all been waiting for...

Ch. 15. Every 15th a Holiday, right?

Chloe and Lana walked in the Torch first. Clark looked around while to make sure no one else was around, then he closed the door. He turned around and had to stop. Here were his two best friends. The two people left in his life he could trust. The two people who had been through everything with him, without realizing what they were doing. Now they would know. Clark could hardly believe it—now was the time he would tell them everything.

He should have been scared. He should have paused for a while, remembering this moment forever. This was the most important day of his life. Nothing would ever be the same again. But he didn't pause. He didn't really want to spend time cherishing it.  
He had kept this secret for so long, he just wanted them to know, and know as fast as they could.

Chloe was beginning to get scared. If Clark did this to her again… she wasn't sure how she could get through that. "Clark?" was all that she could say, hoping it would give him the courage he would need. But today he didn't need courage. Today all he needed was his friends.

"You were right," Clark began. Chloe and Lana looked at him. "You were both right. I am different than most people." Clark smiled. He was confident. It was like this was the right place, the right time. Now all he would have to do it find the right way. Clark's smile turned a little sad. "I guess I'm different from everybody."

"You were infected by the meteor rocks." Chloe suddenly wished she hadn't asked that question. She wanted him to tell her. She had to hear him said it to her—not just answer a yes or no question.

Clark looked down, suddenly feeling less confident. "Let's just say the meteor rocks and I aren't friends." Lana and Chloe both looked like they wanted an explanation. "When I was little my parents realized I was strong for my age. Stronger than most."

"Or stronger than all," Lana finished for him. Surprisingly it didn't scare her.

Clark looked at them as he talked, hoping to read their emotions. "When I got older, I realized I was also faster than most. Faster than anyone I knew."

Chloe tried not to cry. It was as if she could will all the anger she was feeling towards him away. It was really happening—Clark Kent was telling her his secret.

Clark tried to remain calm. "And then even later I learned I could start fires with my eyes."

That got Chloe and Lana's attention. They didn't expect to hear that one. "Starting fires with your eyes?" Chloe asked.

Clark did his best not to smile. He was so happy he was finally coming clean. It's weird when you can be happy and terrified at the same time, but Clark didn't care. "And I can hear things other people can't hear."

Chloe smiled. "Well, we pretty much had that one figured out."

Lana, however, was not smiling. She wasn't scared, but still she had a serious look on her face. Part of her thought that if she laughed, Clark might stop. She didn't want him to stop. She thought about that for a moment. Why did she know he had more to tell her?

"And I can see through things. Most things." Clark felt a huge wave of relief. He thought for a second. _Yes… I think that's all I can do… _

Chloe looked down. She pretty much could guess Clark was different, but that wasn't what was bothering her. That's not really what she wanted to know. A question still stuck out in her mind, more than most. "Clark, why do you think the meteor rocks gave you more than one ability?" Lana looked up—first at Chloe, then at Clark. She had tried not to think about that question. Why did she try not to think about that question…

Clark looked scared. He didn't know why—he was telling them after all, not having them discover it on their own—but still, the question scared him. This was the moment. For now on it was before and after. They would never have the relationship they had now again. They would never look at him the same way again.

Chloe knew that look he had—the hesitation. "Every other…" Chloe almost said "infected", but she stopped. "…Changed person we know only had one power. You have more than one." Chloe watched Clark's face. _Just tell me, Clark… _"Any idea why that might have happened?"

_Close your eyes, Clark. Close them and tell them, so maybe you won't notice they're there. _But he had to keep them open. If he was going to tell them, he wanted to see their expressions. He had to see their first expressions. "Chloe—I'm adopted."

Chloe waited for the rest of the explanation, but he stopped, as if that was supposed to explain it all. "I think we've covered that sometime in the past 5 years since I've known you."

Lana looked over at Clark, wondering where he was getting at with this. The biggest news was yet to come—she could tell.

"I'm not from America."

Lana closed her eyes, and fought the urge to cry. _Hold on… just a little longer._

Chloe, however, was mad. You could tell it, too. She didn't say anything for a second, being so mad she couldn't think straight. "Clark Kent—do you mean to tell me that you have freaked me and Lana and everyone who cares about you for over 4 years because you—what—were born in Iraq! That's what you were hiding!"

Clark's head snapped up. He had hoped, if nothing else, to confuse them—not to have them draw their own conclusions from that sentence alone. "Chloe, I wasn't born in Iraq."

"China then, whatever…"

"No—Chl…" Clark calmed down. He knew this was going to be hard on them—he didn't want to give them a reason to be mad at him after all was said and done. "Chloe—I wasn't born anywhere that you would have heard of."

Chloe stopped, not really sure where he was going with this again, but her mind was beginning to let things connect. She looked at Clark, confused. Clark just looked up slightly, hoping to get a point across. Chloe's confused look suddenly melted away. She just stared at Clark for a moment—hoping that was not the direction he was going with this conversation. "No…"

Clark looked down, but Lana looked up. Clark spoke first. "Yes."

Lana looked from Chloe to Clark, afraid not to ask. "What?"

"No…" Clark nodded his head harder, but now Chloe was mad. "No—Clark, do you seriously think you'd talk me into believing you were from another planet!"

Lana's head snapped around to see Clark. "What?"

"Chloe… I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

Lana's couldn't believe what she had heard. "What!"

Clark looked at Lana. This was his greatest fear. This was what he regretted most. His family had taken the lives of hers—had changed it forever, and now he alone was left to take the responsibility. "Lana…" Lana looked like she was in a daze. "I can explain." Lana's look turned into one of disgust without her knowing. "Lana… I'm so sorry. For everything. For…" Clark stopped. "For your parents… for lying to you…"

Lana froze. "My parents?" Chloe's head snapped up, too. "What do my parents have to do with any…"

Chloe's eyes became really wide. "Oh my stars…"

Clark looked back up at her. "I didn't mean to…"

"Oh my stars!" That's all that Chloe could say. For some reason she sounded like she was almost crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Clark turned back to Lana, who did have tears starting to fall slowly down her face. "Lana…"

"Clark… what… what happened?"

Clark stopped. He was so preoccupied in the fact that he was an alien that he didn't think about no one knowing how he got there. "It was…" He looked at Lana. She looked like she was going to faint. Chloe just looked like… well, he didn't know how to read her face, but it was also one of shock. "Maybe you both should sit down."

Lana sunk into a chair, but Chloe was strong enough to pull one out for herself. Clark sat down, too. It was good to be eye-level when he told them the story. "It was the day of the meteor shower. My parents found me next to my…" Clark stopped. He knew how this was going to sound. He knew how it sounded to him when he first learned about it. "My ship…"

Lana closed her eyes at that word and started crying more.  
Chloe looked at her sympathetically. She knew what it was like to loose one parent, and how much it hurt to learn why. Now it was Lana's turn—and Lana and she both had asked for it.

Clark began again. "They took me home an adopted me. They hid the ship in our storm cellar. I destroyed it about a year and a half ago."

Chloe was coming back to her senses. "Clark, you don't really believe…"

"Chloe, why would I lie about this? You asked me—you asked me, Chloe, why Lionel was so interested in me. And Dr. Swann—come on, and those caves! Don't tell me this didn't sound a little bit weird to you that everything—everyone kept coming back to us. And how protect my parents are—what—did you think I just didn't want to tell you? You were okay with everyone else having abilities—did you think I was just scared that you weren't going to like me anymore?" Clark stopped. He had always thought that was the reason he didn't tell anyone, but maybe it wasn't. Or maybe it wasn't the biggest reason. "Chloe— I went to your grave. I saw the name Chloe Sullivan edged into a tombstone—born the year 1987… how do you think that made me feel? And Lana…" Clark looked at Lana, who was just looking down, hoping to make sense of something. But when she heard her name, she looked up. "Lana saw it, too. You weren't there when Lois saw that site for the first time. You didn't see that "safe house" after there was nothing left. Thought you were dead, Chloe. And Lana—Lana was kidnapped more than once and her life has been threatened for just knowing me." He stopped and looked at them. He hoped once they knew everything they would know where his point of view was coming from. "People call me invincible, but I am scared all the time, because I know Lionel Luther, and I know what Lex is capable of, and I know that he isn't going to stop until…" Clark stopped again. "I didn't want you guys to be hurt, but I was hurting you anyway. I couldn't go on that way. You couldn't go on that way. You were both right—you had the right to know. All I can say now is…" Clark turned around, looking at the clock, hoping that somehow that would give him a deadline—a time when he had to be finished. It didn't. 

"Clark…" Clark was glad that Chloe was at least talking to him. "Your… your planet…"

Clark answered calmly. "Krypton. It was called Krypton."

"Was?" Lana asked, coming out of her daze.

Chloe didn't understand. "What happened to it?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"How do you know what it was called then?" Lana asked.

"Dr. Swann told me. Everything I know about it I had learned from him."

Chloe spoke again. This was still a little hard for her to believe. "So, you mean that at any moment a bunch of space aliens could come to Smallville and take you back with them…"

Now it was hard for Clark. He felt he had to feel for everyone on Krypton. If he didn't remember them, who would? "No. No one's going to come, Chloe. No one's ever going to come back."

"Where are they?"

Clark stopped. "They're dead. Every one of them." Clark suddenly felt like a knife was cutting at his heart. First his family and entire planet were killed, then his father had heart problems, and now his Grandfather. It seemed like a curse they got from being around him. He didn't want to hurt anyone ever again.

"Everyone is gone?" Chloe asked, suddenly feeling bad for Clark again.

Clark shrugged, trying to hide how much he was hurting. "That's what Dr. Swann told me."

"Clark—the meteor shower…" Clark looked back up at Lana, who wasn't looking at him back. "Everything that it has changed here. Everyone that it has infected."

"I know." He looked at Chloe. "I know how interested you are in the meteor shower, and all it's caused. It was hard to…" Clark didn't know how to finish. "I'm sorry. Lana—Chloe—you both; I'm sorry."

Jason appeared from the hallway. "Lana—I've been looking for you everywhere." He stopped when he saw her expression. "Are you okay?" Land looked down and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "What happened?"

"I'm fine, Jason. I just…" She looked up at Clark. It surprised her what she was feeling. "I just need to go."

Clark stood up after her. "Lana…"

"Clark—please," was all she could make out. "Please, just let me go."

Chloe stood up, too. She wanted to make sure Lana was okay, but Jason was with her. And she wanted to know more, but she didn't want to be in the room with Clark alone. It wasn't that she was scared of him, it was just…

"Clark… I'm going to…" Chloe pointed towards Lana. "I'll…" She stopped. She finally just left the room, leaving Clark alone, in the dark. He finally realized that they hadn't turned on the lights when they came in. The only light that showed were the ones security ones in the room. He waited about 30 seconds after they left until he sunk down onto the floor —missing the chair— and for the first time since he had learned his secret started crying.


	16. Ch 16

Believe it or not, I am posting more of my story! I sure hope I haven't made you all faint from the shock. Thanks for reading, guys! You make all the writing worth while A special thanks to my friend, Dawn, for helping me with that one annoying sentence I couldn't make work. Now you are famous, and everyone wants to be like you. Yay!

Ch. 16

Clark didn't come home early from the dance. He just sat there in the dark for the longest time. He knew he only had a few hours left before his parents would expect him home, and then what? Should he just not tell them what he did? No, they'd figure it out eventually, when Chloe came over asking them a whole bunch of questions about finding their son in a spaceship. He had to tell them. He knew he'd have to tell them all along, but now that things didn't go as well as he had hoped, he was scared. _Amazing_, Clark thought. _No matter how old you get, you're always scared of your mom… _But now that Clark was home, sitting outside in his truck—well, he really wasn't sure what to do. He didn't even want to think about what will happen. But keeping secrets was what got him into this mess. His only hope of getting free was to tell the truth.

When Clark opened the door, he heard laughing. _Weird_, he thought. _I bet that's the last time I hear laughing in this house again for a while… _They were all in the living room, playing a game. Jonathan saw him first.  
Clark looked down. Jonathan sounded panicky. "What's wrong?"

The laughter stopped, and everyone looked at Clark. "I told Lana and Chloe the truth tonight. I told them everything."  
-

"Hey—now's it going?" Chloe asked the next morning. Chloe got her dad to call in sick for both Lana and her. Lana had stayed the night at Chloe's house. It was the only real family home she was used to, and she didn't feel like being alone the night before. Neither did Chloe. 

Flashback to earlier that morning

"Something happened, Dad. Something as big as what happened this summer."

"What happened!" Chloe's dad had asked, suddenly feeling the urge to move as far away from Kansas as he could.

"Lana found out something big. As much as I would like to tell you the rest, I can't. Just trust me that we're not trying to skip out on a test or something, okay?"

Mr. Sullivan looked at Lana and immediately knew that they were telling the truth. With their lives, they deserved a break every once in a while. _They're just kids… _he told himself. _No kid should have to go through this…_

Back to present

"I'm doing okay," Lana answered, "considering I just found out the boy I was in love with is from another planet."

Chloe laughed a little sarcastically. "I wonder how that feels."

Lana looked back up at Chloe. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean…"

Chloe interrupted her. "Lana, I know what it was like to find out about my mom—why she was gone. I can't imagine how it would be to learn that someone you care about has something to do with a parent's death."

Lana looked down. "I'm…. I'm not even sure what to think. I want to be angry at him. I want to not care. I want to…" Chloe sat down and waited for her to continue. "You know what scares me?" Chloe gave her a questioning look. Unwanted tears entered Lana's eyes again. "It doesn't change anything! When I looked at him, I still just saw Clark. I saw the same boy I had known since I was 3. I still had the same feelings for him, and everything is exactly the same as it was yesterday, only now I know it's the same. Lionel Luther will still be after Clark. We'll still have to put up with Clark's disappearings, and watch our backs, and…"

Chloe tried to smile. "I thought that was the point of him telling us—it wouldn't change anything."

"But it does change things! It does and it doesn't…" Lana stopped. "I must make no sense to you at all right now."

"Actually, Lana, I know exactly what you're saying. We kept asking to know the truth, knowing that it would be dangerous, hoping that it would settle the tension between us, and now…"

"Are you scared of him?" Lana asked.

Chloe thought about that for a minute. "No." She stopped. "Part of me wishes I were, but that's not what I'm scared of."

"What are you scared of?" Lana asked again, hoping that Chloe would put into words what Lana felt, too.

"I'm scared of the situation. Just yesterday I believed that green meteor rocks mutated people, and that was as far as it went. But now I know more." Chloe tried to smile. "Why does knowing more always make it more scary?"

Lana shook thought about that and shook her head. "I don't know."

"And it is hard—because now I know that there is something going on in Smallville much bigger than the Luthors or even high school—something that we have no control over—something that even Clark can't escape." Tears started going down Chloe's eyes, now, yet Chloe smiled through her tears. "And you know the sad thing-We're 18 years old! Our life isn't supposed to start for another 7-10 years—and already we have gone through so much… What will my life look like 10 years from now? Can I even go on that long?" Chloe stopped for a second, trying to gather strength. "And the thing that really scares my gnomes underground is now that he's finally told us, I think I've known it all along. I just didn't want it to be true."

Lana nodded her head. "Yeah, I think I've known it for a while, too. Or at least suspected." Chloe look confused. Lana began explaining. "I first started feeling there was more to Clark Kent than just the meteor infection when I found out about the serum that kept Adam Knight alive."

Chloe cringed a little. "Oh yes- thanks for those memories."

"I asked Clark if he knew what was in the serum, and he said no."

"Of course."

"But how he said no. Or even after he said no—there was something. And then everything I found in the caves." Lana shook her head, trying to make sense of things. "Meteors don't write on cave walls, and they sure don't spread artifacts all over the world."

Chloe smiled. "Well, this is Smallville. I would actually believe it if the meteors came to life and grew arms and legs and started painting on cave walls."

Lana smiled a little, too. "But they didn't, Chloe. This is Clark's heritage. He's the only one…" Lana looked down. "He's the only one who's left."

Chloe suddenly understood what she was talking about. "It must be hard."

"It is. Even though you know you have others who care about you, you can never forget those who cared about you first."

They sat there for a good while before Chloe got up. "Well, I'm going to go make a miraculous recovery and sneak into the school."

"Why?"

"I want to make sure I have everything weird about Clark out of that room before the day ends. I think I got rid of everything a long time ago, but now that I know how serious it is, I want to be extra careful."

Lana looked down and nodded. Chloe realized she wasn't making her point. "Maybe you should get out of the house, too."

"I don't think I could face Clark right now, Chloe."

"Who said anything about that? Take a drive. See where it takes you. Maybe who it takes you to." Lana looked  
confused. "Maybe it will take you to another woman who knows what it's like to be alone since the day of the meteor shower."  
Lana knew who she was talking about, but part of her was scared to go there. "All roads eventually lead home, Lana. Go home." Chloe put her coat on, grabbed her keys, and left Lana alone to decide what to do


End file.
